Over Easter weekend Trevor and I visited Lonely Bay in Cooks Beach with new friends Ray, Lynette and Robyn. While sitting on the beach after our very "refreshing" swim, I became intrigued with the high number of tiny rib-like shells that were scattered where we were sitting. Immediately my mind went to wondering what they would look like as hukahuka (attachments) on a piece of woven clothing. They are delicate and smooth, lovely to touch. I could see them in rows, or hung individually or scooped around a neckline. I gathered up 150 of them in a short space of time and then unbeknown to me, Trevor went back a few days later and gathered another few hundred!
They are from the very common New Zealand whelk. Beaten and polished by the sea. My dad used to polish stones when we were young and I remember seeing them come out of the polisher having been transformed from ragged pieces of rock. I can remember him adding more grit or more water to finetune the process. On picking up these shells I was reminded of the quote, "Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us." And that to me is about therapy. Being ground down and polished up brings benefits, gives us insight, increases our capacity for life. Am wondering just how I will use these shells in my project - they are definitely symbolic of therapy!
